The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1887-10-14
SLEEPING WONDERS.
FeatS of Some Men While in the
Arms of Morpheus.
Failing Asleep at the Stake and
in Battle.

C1IlIlS AoICCP cAL IAiO OIctrNO cA4lA
in Battle.
Sleep in most individuals lasts for the
space of eight hours. Exceptions to this
statement are numerous; whether these
arise from duty or Iazincss we shall not
venture to examine Sir f. Corrington,
the famous naval officer, when midship-
man, could watch on deck for nineteen
hours; this left only five for sleep, which
in his case was most profound, so pro
found that no noise was sufficiently
strong to waken him, Yet if the word
I "signal" was whispered in his ear he
awoke and was on deck instantly.
Reporters of the House of Commons
require great exertions to keep them
selves from sleeping. a few years ago a
distinguished member of the 'gentle-
men i'll the gallery" took down a speech
while he was sleeping. His statement
rests on his oath. Calvin tells of a
friend of reading aloud to him while
asleep. The organ of vision was alone
! active
Coleridge, the dreaming philosopher,
composed ''Cubla Khan" Zone of his
poems) while fast asleep. Next morn
ing he was sure there had been an ac-
| QUESTION to his literature, but was too
negligent to write the stanzas A few
days afterward he attempted to recall
the verses, but they had for the most
part fled, and the poem as it now stands
is but fragment
Every one knows that extreme fatigue
induces sleep, and this in spite of sur
rounding relations, which under ordi-
nary circumstances would hinder any
one from resting. Previous to the short
ening of the hours of work factory chill
dren frequently fell asleep while work
ing at the machines, although we'll aware
that they would incur severe punishment
by doing so. The North American In
dian, at the stake of torture, has been
known to go tosleep on the least remis-
sion of agony, and will slumber until the
fire is applied to awaken him.
1t is on record that during the heat of
the battle of the Nile some of the over
fatigued boys fell asleep upon the deck,
and during the attack upon Rangoon, in
the Burmese war, the captain of one of
the steam frigates most actively en-
gagged, worn out by the excess of con-
tinued mental tension, fell asleep and
remained perfectly unconscious for two
hosrs, within yard of his largest guns,
which were being worked energeticalIy
the whole period.
Habit and time, place and circum-
stances, predispose us all to sleep. The
celebrated pedestrian, Captain Barclay,
when accomplishing his extraordinary
feat of walking 1000 miles III as many
successive hours obtained at last such a
mastery over himself that he fell asleep
the instant he lay down. The doctors
wife never hears the door bell during
the night, although the noise is sufficient
to rouse the wearicd husband; but should
a child in the nursery cry, then the
mother, oblivious to all other sounds,
hears at once the infants voice.
1t is related that the Abbe Faria who
acquired notoriety through his power of
inducing somnambuIism, was accustomed
merely to place his patient in an arm
chair, after telling him to shut his eyes
and collect himself, and pronounce in a
strong voice ''dormcz" which was usu-
ally successful.
There seems to be no limit to the won
ders displayed by man in sleeping. Con
dorcct, the mathematician. solved one of
his most difficult problems while asleep
a problem, too, which puzzled him
during his waking hours. A professor
of theology in the University of Basle
once wrote a sermon while asleep; he
found it on his desk next morning. The
preceding night he could not grapple
with the subject as he desired, but the
performance of his sleeping hours was
. quite satisfactory to him.
Jenny Llnd was one OF the most Cele-
brated singers of her time. no one
could rival her powers except a factory
girl, who sang sometimes better than the
famous Jenny. The girl could not at
tempt any difficult piece when awake,
but when sleeping she sang so correctly,
so like the renowned artistic, that it W..
difficult to distinguish between thcil
voices. On one occasion Mile Limo
heard the girl, and even tested the ac
curacy of her powers by giving her Ions
and elaborate chromatic exercise. ThiI
the sleeping girl performed, much to the
wonder of the famous Swedish singer
= London Telegraph.
A HuicE EiItnF